THE greatest night in Nuneaton Borough's football history ended in FA Cup defeat last night.

But there was no disgrace or dejection after the 5-2 loss.

The Nuneaton faithful who travelled in their thousands to Middlesbrough were proud their team had played such a leading part in the FA dream.

They sang and chanted themselves hoarse at the Riverside stadium, lap-ping up every second of what amounted to a fabulous adventure in English football's premier cup competition.

Nuneaton's fans took defeat in their stride, but most admitted they would have loved the fairytale to have extended to one more tie - against neighbours Coventry City at the Ricoh Arena in the next round.

Darren Redmond, aged 38, of Hayes Lane, Exhall, was among the 5,000 Boro fans who made the trip to the north-east.

Unknown to many on his coach, Darren was wearing a Coventry City shirt under his jumper. He's both a Nuneaton and a Sky Blues fan.

"It would have been great for the Boro to have got through to play the City," he said. "I'm so proud of the Boro. I think it's superb that they can come up here to a Premiership club and hold their own. They gave a great account of themselves."

Ian Ellis, aged 17, of Mount Pleasant Terrace, Camp Hill, Nuneaton, summed it up by saying: "That was our Cup Final - but it would have been even better to have played against Coventry."

He added: "It was great. Gez Murphy is our hero. We've had a great night out. All I say now is bring on Manchester United next season!"

Seventeen-year-old Liam Percival, who works at Iceland in Bedworth and who lives in Bucks Hill, Nuneaton, said: "I'm speechless. This is a night I'll remember for the rest of my life.

"It has been superb. We held them, but then we weren't at our best either side of half-time.

"We gave them a battle and I think we scared them towards the end."

His dad, Dave, aged 40, of Westcotes,Tile Hill, Coventry, who is another Sky Blues and Boro fan, said: "I thought we were really brave. It was a shame we had those periods either side of half-time.

"I'm really disappointed because I wanted to see the Sky Blues play against the Boro.

"I'm finding it hard to swallow -but at least we won the last 20 minutes 2-0."

His fiancee, Sue Chaytors, aged 42, who also lives in Tile Hill, said: "We got so close to playing against Coventry City, but now the chance has gone.

"I really enjoyed it, except I couldn't sit down because the fans kept standing up. It was a great atmosphere."

Derek Percival, aged 64, a retired toolmaker, of Bretts Hall Estate, Ansley, Nuneaton, said: "It was a brilliant performance by the Boro considering they are five leagues above us.

"We did ourselves proud and played really well, but it wasn't to be.

"To beat a Premiership team on their own ground was asking a bit too much." ..SUPL: